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Writing Lesson Plan: Grade 8

Sherman Alexies The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian (2007)
Book Synopsis: Sherman Alexies The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian (2007) tells
the story of 13-year-old Arnold Spirit Junior. Junior, born with a brain disability, has grown up
on a Native American reservation and spent his entire life there with his family and his best
friend, Rowdy. The reservation citizens face many obstacles such as poverty and discrimination,
however, so Arnold makes the decision to transfer to a school located in the primarily white
neighborhood 20 miles way from the reservation. Upon his transfer, Arnold faces obstacles in
each of his two worlds: the world of his tribe on the reservation, and the white world of his new
school. For instance, his tribe feels betrayed by his escape, and his new, white peers do not
accept him since he is Native American. Students can relate to Arnolds experience with fitting
into a new school, adjusting to puberty, and trying to hold on to his best friend in the face of
change. Furthermore, Alexie uses Arnolds experiences to introduce students to valuable life
lessons surrounding sensitive issues such as racism, disabilities, poverty, alcoholism, and grief.
Rationale: Students are engaging with Alexies work by choosing specific aspects of the text
such as characters or events to evaluate and close-read in regards to their purpose and effect.
Using Twitter, students will interact with one another to discuss these findings and use textual
evidence to support their claims. Students are also exposed to key historical events such as the
establishment of Native American reservations and the long-term effects of them through an
adolescents perspective.
Standards
1. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.8.2
Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas,
concepts, and information through the selection, organization, and analysis of
relevant content.

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2.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.8.2.D

Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to inform about or explain

the topic.
3.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.8.6

Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and present
the relationships between information and ideas efficiently as well as to interact
and collaborate with others.
4.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.8.1.B

Support claim(s) with logical reasoning and relevant evidence, using accurate,
credible sources and demonstrating an understanding of the topic or text.
Objectives
1. Students will create inferences and predictions based on the text through the Twitter
platform.
2. Students will incorporate details and references from the text to support their claims.
3. Students will interact with others and respond to their claims using supporting evidence
from the text.
Procedures
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Engagement/Anticipatory Set

Display

pictures on the
projector.

You may notice that I have an assortment of

pictures up here. Can anyone tell me how all these pictures are related? Why did I
choose these pictures? Student provides answer, hopefully realizing that all
these images relate to Arnold. Good! Now, lets look at a specific image, like the
basketball. Why was basketball so important in this novel? Student provides
answer, summarizing Arnolds experience with the sport. Correct! Basketball is
Arnolds first chance to fit in at his new school, but also his first realization that
he betrayed his reservation. We just did a mini close-reading with these images,

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because we evaluated what they were, why we chose them, and what they meant/
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influenced in the novel. Keep this in mind as we move on!

Mentor
o Today, we will be using our class Twitter to prepare for our literary essay on True
Diary. We will be choosing characters, images, or objects, like the ones I chose in
the previous activity and exploring what role they play, or their purpose in the
text.
o Choose one of the above pictures. Student chooses picture of tree. Good Choice!
Think aloud. Now, what do I already know about Arnolds relationship with
trees? What do I remember from the text? Maybe I should find the page where he
talks about that memory. Ah yes! Here on page Read passage out loud. It
seems to me that since Arnold associates trees with his friend Rowdy, the trees
remind him of all the good times they used to have. I think Im going to tweet
about this! Model Tweet on projector.

@MSHADY16: #TrueDiaryThoughts This picture of a tree

reminds Arnold of his fun times with Rowdy. I think trees represent
friendship. What do you think?
o What were the different parts of my tweet? I introduced the hashtag, defined my
image, explained its meaning, and inferred its purpose. Now, you use your devices
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to publish your own tweet about one of the images I have projected.
Guided Practice
o We are going to choose our own images now, based on whether they fulfill a
theme. For instance, resilience is our ability to overcome our obstacles or cope
with hardship. What are some examples of resilience that Arnold shows in the
novel? Look through the novel and find some events or situations where

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resiliency is evident. Where did you get these examples? Turn and Talk with the
person next to you about what you have found.
o Log onto your Twitter accounts for this class. Using our lesson hashtag
#TrueDiaryThoughts, summarize what you and your partner discovered during
your discussion. Provide page numbers, or a picture of the quote/page in your
tweet. If you have trouble, follow the model we used earlier today! Display
Twitter Newsfeed of hashtag on projector.
o Lets take a look at some of your tweets. Read a few out loud. What are some
tweets that your classmates sent that you didnt think of? (Tweet responses/turn
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and talk)
Independent Application
o Using the information you gathered during this activity, and some of your tweets,
fill out the following graphic organizer. What are the three images you are
focusing on? How do they show resiliency? Where in the text are you getting this
information? While you complete this, I will walk around and help anyone who
needs help. Your goal or thesis is the theme of resiliency. Your main reasons are
the characters/events/objects that you are using to support your claim. Then
explain what the scenes mean in your facts/examples column.

This is to be

o
continued in a later class (future connection)
Materials
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, Sherman Alexie, 2007
Twitter
Mobile/electronic devices

Assessments: Walking around room, listening to conversations, reading student work, Twitter
newsfeed of student Tweets, graphic organizer
Differentiation: Students will be working independently, with the teacher, and with peers. In
addition, the use of Twitter empowers some students who may not actively participate in class
verbally to participate through online, published writing. Students are working with both text and
images.
Technology Connection: Students are using the electronic social media platform of Twitter to
publish and record their ideas to their peers and teachers, as well as to interact with others in the
process. An overhead projector may also be used to display tweets or model work.
Future Connections: The end goal of this lesson is a literary essay, which answers the prompt
that we created in class. (EX: After reading True Diary, write an essay in which you analyze the

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chosen image or event that shows Arnolds resiliency. Support your discussion with evidence
from the texts). This analytical essay will encourage close reading and using textual evidence to
support the initial claims we maid during this lesson.